What's On This Year, 2012
The Face of Courage
2 January - 7 May
FREE ART EXHIBITION
Portraits of the British at War,
1940-45, by Eric Kennington (1888-1960).
The Museum's Art Gallery.
Running until 7th May 2012
For much of his distinguished career, Kennington was regularly classed by leading critics as belonging to the ranks of such exceptional portraitists as: Hans Holbein the Younger; Albrecht Dürer; Franz Hals; Van Gogh and Augustus John. Furthermore, many of his artistic contemporaries rated him as one of the finest draughtsman of his day and while among famous contemporaries who admired Kennington’s portraiture were: Winston Churchill; J.B. Priestley; Siegfried Sassoon; George Bernard Shaw; Geoffrey de Havilland; Richard Hillary and T.E. Lawrence.
The exhibition will present about three dozen works covering all of the Armed Services, the Auxiliary Services and London Transport and some notable civilians. Pictures have been loaned to the show by the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum, the Tate, the National Maritime Museum, the Ministry of Defence as well as from Kennington’s family and other private lenders and art dealers.
Kennington was among only a handful of British artists who distinguished themselves as official British war artists during both World Wars. His portraits were widely hailed as works of art and as morale-boosters for they presented British Servicemen in a guise that convinced many spectators that the nation’s armed forces did indeed contain men who had the will to triumph over their German, Italian and Japanese opponents in battle.
This exhibition, the first to focus specifically on his Second World War Art, seeks to reassess Kennington’s significant contribution to British War Art and to acknowledge his undoubted standing as one of the great British portraitists of the Twentieth Century. In a ‘People’s War’ he produced unforgettable images of ordinary men and women who displayed extraordinary courage and resource.
This exhibition has been guest curated by the Senior Research Fellow in History of Art at Kingston University, Jonathan Black.
A folio of prints complementing this exhibition may be purchased from the museum's online shop at Eric Kennington Portaiture and the Second World War.
Please note: The Art Gallery will be closed to the public for a private viewing of this exhibition on 10th of February, 10th March and 13th March 2012.
Image is of: Sqdn Ldr Leslie Vero Everest Atkinson, DSO, DFC & Bar
Brothers in Arms
2 January - 4 March
Airmen of Poland and Czechoslovakia in the Battle of Britain & Beyond.
During the Battle of Britain one fifth of Fighter Command’s aircrew came from overseas with 16 nations represented in its squadrons. Arguably the RAF’s most prolific and successful pilots of this campaign and beyond were the dispossessed Polish and Czechoslovakian pilots who had escaped from their homelands to fight, as brothers in arms, against a tyranny that had occupied Continental Europe.
In this multimedia exhibition, curated in association with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the Museum will explore through drawings, archive film footage and sculpture the bravery of men such as Czech fighter pilot Josef Frantisek and the men of 303 Squadron; and the fate of those Polish & Czechoslovakian RAF pilots who returned back to their homelands only to be deemed criminals and outcasts by Communist regimes desperate to ‘clip the wings’ of any ‘dangerous elements’ who could become powerful totems around which potential resistance groups could form.
Linked to this exhibition, the museum has also created an online exhibition and podcast about Poles in the Battle of Britain where families and friends of Polish, Czech and Slovak veterans are welcome to post their stories to be read by our world-wide online audience.
RAF Photographer of the Year
15 January - 15 April
Back by popular request, we will be displaying once again the "Royal Air Force Photographer of the Year" exhibition in Milestones of Flight.
Taken by serving Personnel, this exhibition offers the public behind-the-scenes access to the lives of our Boys and Girls at work, rest and play - both at home and in the field.
This exhibition will be displayed electronically in the RAF Today section of Milestones of Flight on glass panels.
For further information, please telephone 020 8205 2266.
Helicopter Half Term
13 February - 17 February
Learn more about the history of our Helicopter Collection through a series of interactive workshops.
We will be opening up our Whirlwind and Royal Wessex Helicopters so that people can view inside.
We will also be allowing children to make their own simple paper helicopter to take home and keep free of charge. This activity will be situated just outside the Museum's Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum's Helicopter Collection.
Session times are 11.00 – 13.00 and 14.00 – 16.00.
Thin Air - Theatre Production
16 March - 17 March
On 16th and 17th of March the Cotton Grass Theatre Company will be staging its latest production, Thin Air in our London Museum's Dermot Boyle Wing.
In Thin Air a young man’s dream of flight has ghostly consequences. Set in the shadow of two world wars, this haunting family saga is a tale of ambition and secrets and passion unspent.
Thin Air is a new play by Carnegie Award-winning author Berlie Doherty, directed by Joyce Branagh and presented by Derbyshire-based Cotton Grass Theatre. It is the supernatural story of a First World War fighter pilot who returns home from the horrors of the war. He is in possession of a secret that will haunt his community for generations to come.
Thin Air is set in the Dark Peak of Derbyshire and is inspired by the unique landscape, heritage and mythology of the Peak. The play will use theatre, projected imagery and live music to tell its ghostly tale.
Thin Air resonates with the mysterious atmosphere of this unique corner of England. The Peak District is an ancient geo-political frontier, the border of Mercia and Northumbria. It echoes with the stories of the many peoples who have lived, traded and travelled within its borders. In the last century it became synonymous with aircraft engineering: Rolls Royce at Derby, Barnes Wallace - born in Ripley; the wartime Dambuster practice flights over Ladybower reservoir and the many aircraft wrecks to be found on the forbidding slopes of Kinder Scout. This rich history is captured in the words and action of the play.
Specifically created for older children (14+) Thin Air will also appeal to an adults. To purchase tickets in advance please go to www.wegottickets.com or phone 07972 145977.
Please note tickets are not available from the Museum but only through Cotton Grass Theatre and its agents. A booking fee may apply.
Sport in the RAF
20 March - 2 September
Full details to be confirmed.
An exhibition about Sport in the RAF examining the participation of service members throughout the RAF's history in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games - as well as the day to day importance that Sport has in RAF service life.
We make every effort to adhere to our published schedule. However, dates may vary without notice.
Please confirm dates and times prior to the event to avoid disappointment.
